Frank Castle (α)
Frank Castle, otherwise known as The Punisher, is a character that appears within [[wikipedia:Marvel_Comics|'Marvel Comics']]. He made his debut in Monokuma Rising. Canon Frank Castle, also known as [[wikipedia:Punisher|'The Punisher']], hails from Marvel Comics, specifically the [[wikipedia:Punisher_Max|'MAX imprint']]. A hardened war veteran, he became a ruthless vigilante that struck fear into the hearts of criminals after his wife and children were mercilessly gunned down in front of him, seeking to punish as much crime as humanly possible, or perhaps even further than that. Pre-Convergence Before the events of [http://murderseries.wikia.com/wiki/Murder_IV%3A_Monokuma_Rising Monokuma Rising], Frank had just concluded the events of [http://www.comicvine.com/the-punisher-max-5-the-slavers/4000-216769/ The Punisher: MAX Volume 5], in which he sought to take down a female slavery ring after hearing the testimony of a young woman that had escaped said slavery ring. Plot Involvement Monokuma Rising Having joined in the middle of the event, Frank ran into the rest of the participants, in particular allying himself with Kirei Kotomine, Robin Tact, Erika Furudo, and Dlanor A. Knox, among others, participating in the traitor trials. After realizing that he voted an innocent to die, Frank committed suicide, not wanting to risk sending another innocent person to death and, in his eyes, becoming just as bad as the kind of criminal he hunted. He ended up in the afterlife where he befriended Jennifer, along with the other deceased participants present. Like them, he would later come back to life to continue participating in the event. System Breakdown Frank came to live at the Coalition Headquarters after the events of Monokuma Rising when Makoto Naegi and Darth Rex appeared before him and the rest of the Survivors at the end of the event. During his time with the Coalition, he exchanged quips with Meira Franz, got into a fight with Kirei Kotomine, and bonded with the priest's student, Rin Tohsaka. They grew close enough before Frank, boldly enough, confessed how much he exactly came to care for Rin and asked to come to her world and live with her, to which Rin accepted. Frank later went on to appear during the epilogue of System Breakdown, in a brief scene foreshadowing a future plot with Cosmo. The Ultimate Game During the events of Coalition Headquarters, he would be approached by a version of his daughter, Lisa Castle, from another dimension where she had lived. After some convincing and reminiscing, the two of them would band together and go on to participate in the subsequent Murder Game. Frank was decently prominent within the event, his interactions mostly consisting of Desmond Miles, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Ridley Duchannes, and Lisa Castle. He participated in the Traitor votes when able to as well. During the climactic battle against Arch Demon Akibahara and his forces, Frank and Kirei Kotomine had a small competition to see who could kill more Crossed, though it ultimately ended in a draw when both of them would lose count of how many they had killed. Illusion Breaker Fresh out of ''The Ultimate Game'', Frank has settled down and began living with Rin Tohsaka, acting as her legal guardian and so on. Little would he eventually realize what was to come. In the Winter of Fuyuki City, Rin Tohsaka, after many delays because of the Murder phenomena, continues to prepare for the impending Fifth Holy Grail War, though her preparations have been relatively slow-going, as seen when Kirei Kotomine gives her a call and urges her to summon her Servant for the War quickly if she wants to participate, which she takes note of. Shortly after she departs for school, however, her mansion is attacked by a band of soldiers called Hound Dogs, led by a young man named Teitoku Kakine, who raid the place in a search for the fake, copied Jeweled Sword of Zelretch, capable of interdimensional travel, that she had used earlier to travel to Coalition Headquarters so long ago. Unaware of Frank's presence within the mansion, the former vigilante takes advantage of this and dispatches many of the inexperienced soldiers. As Kakine and the rest of the surviving Hound Dogs would attempt to escape via helicopter after finding the fake Jeweled Sword, Frank would quickly travel into the backyard, uncovering an RPG from the battle van he had been preparing for quite some time, shooting it down in the middle of the city. However, upon investigating the crash site once he'd reach it, it would be discovered that Kakine's body was missing, as was the Jeweled Sword. As it caused an alarming commotion within the city, Rin and the rest of the students at Homurahara High School were forced to go home early, where the news would be broken to her that her Jeweled Sword had been stolen. Though initially alarmed, she decides to contact Kotomine, who in turn contacts the Mage's Association and Holy Church about it. The two organizations conduct a widespread investigation, while Rin is advised to go through summoning her Servant in the meantime. Thus, that night, she, partly by accident, summons an Archer-class Servant, and though he remembers little of his past memory due to the partly botched summoning, he vows his loyalty to Rin and allies himself with Frank. The next day, Rin decides to skip school in favor of letting Archer let himself be familiarized with the layout of the city for the impending Holy Grail War along with Frank. They spend the entire day mapping out the city for Archer, and by the evening, they would stand atop a skyscraper, where a man named Terra of the Left would suddenly appear and make an attempt on her life, managing to knock her off the rooftop. As Archer would go save Rin, Frank was left to deal with Terra of the Left, and after some brief difficulties, managed to defeat the strange man and interrogate him. It would be there that Terra of the Left would reveal that he is from another world, and that a magician named Fiamma of the Right is plotting to attack soon, before being killed by Frank shortly after. The following morning, Rin's home would be visited by Shirou Emiya, a mutual acquaintance of Rin who happens to know of her through her younger sister. Upon meeting Frank, Shirou states that when he was walking home from work the previous night, he had noticed Rin on the rooftop. Curiously, he had decided to enter the building and climb the stairs until he would reach the rooftop, but by then, she was gone. After dropping off a lunch box made by himself and Rin's younger sister, he would depart. Later that evening, after stating that it would be best to go patrol through the city, Rin explores the city at night with Archer and Frank. As they explore the city, it would seem that nothing of interest would reside within, but everything would change once they would reach the empty school. Frank would notice a group of soldiers, likely from the same organization as the ones that had raided the Tohsaka Mansion the other day, marching into the school gymnasium and opening fire at someone inside. The someone would turn out to be Shirou, who managed to escape into the main school building with his magecraft. Frank is forced to pursue Shirou and the soldiers alone, as Archer and Rin would suddenly be held up by a sudden explosion and a mysterious figure, another Servant known as Lancer. Though Frank would manage to dispatch the soldiers, the destructive fight between Archer and Lancer would devastate the school a bit, separating the two of them. However, by the time Frank would reunite with Shirou, the teenager was already dead, killed by Lancer to ensure that there were no witnesses of the Holy Grail War. Before he would be able to kill Frank as well, he would be stopped by the untimely intervention of Ciel and a young man named Accelerator. After Lancer would flee from the scene, the group would be met by Motoharu Tsuchimikado, who would claim that another Murder Game was in the works. Right Hand of the Crimson Moon After the abrupt ending of Illusion Breaker, Frank would wake up a day later, suddenly drawn into the Murder Game, abruptly separated from not just Rin, but also Archer, Tsuchimikado, Ciel, and Accelerator, whom he had become acquainted with during the previous event. Frank was a major figure within the Murder Game, and his change in personality ever since Monokuma Rising had been noted by his old allies, Robin Tact and Erika Furudo. He also made some new allies, including Ryan Duchannes and Saiai Kinuhata. In the first chapter, after being sent out of the Einzbern Mansion along with the rest of the Survivors in the Prologue and ending up back in Fuyuki City, he would traverse with some of the other participants to the empty Shopping District, where he would reunite with Kirei Kotomine, before warning the priest that another Murder Game had begun. As one of the earlier kills, Frank was murdered by Kizaru in the middle of the second chapter, and when he would come to, he had found himself in the clutches of Teitoku Kakine, who would taunt the old man a bit, before bringing in the subdued forms of Robin Tact, Minato Arisato and Illyasviel von Einzbern. Shortly after Kakine would leave the hostages in the hands of his soldiers to report to his superior, a man named Kouma Kishima would rescue them and bring them to his camp, offering them food and shelter, before asking them for a spar, to which Frank and Minato would accept. After a brief spar, the group would then have a rest, before Kouma would suddenly depart the next day, leaving Frank, Robin, Illya, and Minato to travel through the forest by themselves. It wouldn't be long until Illya's body would glow with the power of the Right Hand of the Crimson Moon, allowing her to transport Frank back to the rest of the living Survivors. Come the penultimate chapter, he would fight against a number of armed soldiers attacking a nearby village in Russia alongside Kinuhata, Battler Ushiromiya, Shiage Hamazura, and a number of others, while also rescuing the hostages, among them Hamazura's girlfriend and a little girl who requested that she be taken to Accelerator, who was meanwhile rampaging against Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Minato Arisato, and Mikoto Misaka. Accelerator, having given into despair at the thought that all he could ever be was a wanton killer, resonated deeply with Frank, who had believed that he had since found a new purpose in life after meeting Rin, and believed that the little girl whom he had rescued could give Accelerator his hope back as well. Upon bringing her to Accelerator, inadvertently saving those who were fighting against him, Frank would bring the little girl to him, delivering a speech about how the boy could still change his fate if he so wished, and with that, Accelerator would calm down, taking the girl with her as he would leave the scene, but not before advising that the group traverse further into the clearing to find whatever they were looking for. In the final chapter, he would engage in a climactic fight against Kirei Kotomine, revealed to be the true mastermind of the event, alongside Erika, Robin, and Minato. In the presence of the emerging Holy Grail, which was absorbing the life energy of everyone around, Kotomine had been reduced to a mere 15% of his power, putting him on equal terms with everyone else. After narrowly defeating Kotomine with the help of his allies in a brutal battle that cost Frank his foot, Illyasviel von Einzbern would manage to destroy the Holy Grail at the cost of her own life, beaming Frank's, and everyone else's souls into spare bodies created by Touko Aozaki. Epilogue(s) Monokuma Rising After reflecting on the memory of his dead family and the crime that still remained in this world that had yet to be punished, Frank reluctantly decides to stay with the Coalition. His full epilogue can be viewed [https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/murder-iv-monokuma-rising.86690/page-328#post-1876176 here]. System Breakdown Inside the Coalition Headquarters, Cosmo talks to Frank about a vision he received. The two discuss it only briefly, Frank asking if killing a child is right, even for the greater good. The two briefly discuss morality of such an action, and the reasons why some traitors take on the role. Before leaving, Cosmo asks Frank if the rumors are true about Arya Stark. Frank confirms that Arya started working with the Arch Demon Akibahara, an event that occurred during the Fuse Incident. Cosmo vows to save Arya. The Ultimate Game In the end, he would return with Rin Tohsaka and Kotomine to their home world, ready to start a new life with the former of the two, though he would not exchange farewells with his own daughter. Right Hand of the Crimson Moon In the aftermath of the event, Frank is seen living his normal life once again with Rin, who discovers that she has been invited by the Mage's Association to study in London. He teases her a little when she ponders inviting Shirou, before musing that the Murder Games were now finally behind him. In the second part of his epilogue, he is seen sitting by himself, thinking about all the sins he had committed over the span of his career as a vigilante, and recording sorts of journal entries on his phone, talking about how he had changed ever since meeting Rin, and talk of the final person whom he feels he cannot bring himself to forgive, referring to himself in the third person. With that, he begins his "thirty-third attempt" as he presses a gun against his own temple. What happens afterwards is unknown. The epilogues can be found here. Character Relationships * Kirei Kotomine - An antagonist from [[wikipedia:Fate/stay_night|'Fate/stay night']]'' who also made his Murder debut in ''Monokuma Rising. The two of them were somewhat uneasy allies, but recognized the necessity of killing those who deserved to be punished. Their relationship has turned sour sometime before System Breakdown after Kirei learned of Frank's relationship with Rin Tohsaka. * [http://murderseries.wikia.com/wiki/Rin_Tohsaka Rin Tohsaka] - Another major character from Fate/stay night who debuted in The Ultimate Game. They developed a bond sometime before the events of the Arch Demon's Downfall after learning that each other's pain seemed to complement the other; Rin's pain over losing her parents and being separated from her younger sister and Frank's pain over witnessing the death of his wife and children. * [http://murderseries.wikia.com/wiki/Robin_Tact Robin Tact] - The protagonist of [[wikipedia:Fire_Emblem_Awakening|'Fire Emblem Awakening']] who also debuted in Monokuma Rising. While the two of them were allies, they often butted heads over their conflicting points of views and ways of thinking. * Erika Furudo - An antagonist from [[wikipedia:Umineko:_When_They_Cry|'Umineko no Naku Koro ni']]'' who also made her debut in ''Monokuma Rising. The two of them were allies in the hunt for the traitors. * Dlanor A. Knox - Erika's assistant who also served as one of Frank's allies during Monokuma Rising. Frank offered her some flowers when he received some and didn't exactly know what to do with them. * Jennifer - The protagonist of [[wikipedia:Rule_of_Rose|'Rule of Rose']] who debuted and played a prominent role in Monokuma Rising. He developed a close bond with her during his time in the afterlife. * Meira Franz - An original character from Type-Moon who happens to be a member of the Coalition ''before later making her Illusion debut in [[Illusion II: School Daze|''School Daze]]. It's sort of complicated. They're buddies in admiring Rin's beauty or something of the sort. * Ridley Duchannes - A major character from the Caster Chronicles series who debuted in The Ultimate Game. The two of them shared a close relationship with each other during the Murder Game, even after Ridley was revealed to be a Traitor. * Lisa Castle - Frank's daughter from an alternate world where Frank himself was murdered and his daughter became the Punisher out of vengeance who also debuted in The Ultimate Game. The two of them shared many similarities and differences that made it difficult for each other to get along, and by the end, they had left on bitter terms. Trivia * In Punisher: MAX, characters do not follow the "floating timeline" that the rest of the Marvel Universe adheres to. This means that Frank ages normally. * His title in Monokuma Rising was "The Ultimate Vigilante." * Frank has enjoyed positive critical reception, his interactions and development over the course of the series being noted. In the first Award Show, he was nominated for Best Hero, but lost to Teresa Agnes. * In the second Award Show, Frank was nominated for Most Badass Character Overall, Most Physically Tortured Character, Best Male Character of Right Hand of the Crimson Moon, and Saddest Death for his murder at the hands of Kizaru. His climactic battle against Kotomine was also nominated for Greatest Moment of the event as well. Category:Characters Category:NPCs Category:Survivors Category:Coalition Category:Marvel characters Category:Monokuma Rising Category:The Ultimate Game Category:Illusion Breaker Category:Right Hand of the Crimson Moon